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Transform bounding box of multiple objects


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Hello,

in Affinity Designer, is there any way to transform a bounding box around multiple objects without affecting the geometry of the individual objects, i.e. only affecting the position of their center points?

For example, having circles distributed in a rectangle formation, could I change the "shape" of this bounding rectangle without affecting the shape or size of the circles within?

image.png.affd52bb80bd2bbfea896a2e81d9f564.png

I know I can group rows of circles and distribute those horizontally. That works well in this simple example. I would however like to perform more complex transformations that can't be as easily decomposed into subsequent distribution steps.

Thank you!

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Do you have Publisher? If you have, then you could create just a single object (of any complexity), then use Edit in Publisher and use the Data Merge tool with the single object nested inside an 8 x 4 grid or whatever else is needed. Change the top left object and all the grid objects change. Edit back in Designer and you can still change the top left object and the others follow suit. If you need to change the spacing or quantities of the whole group you would need to go back to Publisher.

Windows 10 Pro, I5 3.3G PC 16G RAM

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@N.P.M. That's a neat trick, thanks, quite clever in this particular situation. 👍

But AFAICT it's only possible to apply the basic set of transformations here, correct? I. e. translation, rotation, shear and size changes.

If I wanted to select a bunch of objects and turn the rectangular bounding box to a wave or an arch, I wouldn't be able to do that? Or inversely, there is no "distribute to mesh" tool I could use to distribute my objects within a 2D shape?

@MickRose I have Publisher, but I don't see how could it help me beyond what Designer already offers ("Symbols" or "Transform Objects Separately" features). The problem is not that I want copies of my object to follow suit. I want a lot them distributed in a non-trivial way, e.g. in a wave, arch or to fill an arrow.

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2 minutes ago, N.P.M. said:

Just applied per your example because you didn't state what the situation should become.

Fair enough. I should have specified a more realistic scenario.

3 minutes ago, N.P.M. said:

for waves etc. i would use objects pasted on a text along a curve

I didn't know it's possible to paste objects there. Just tried it and it works flawlessly for waves, arches etc. Thanks a lot, very useful!

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